Half Empty
by Talking Raptors
Summary: More lessons in life. When Phoenix denies he's not happy with the last trial, Trucy sees through his shell with only a half glass of water. /AJ, massive spoilers for 4-4/ Read and review!


Half Empty

_A negative person will only drink from a half empty glass. Only a positive person will drink from a half full glass of water. _

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The week had whizzed past like a blur for Phoenix, now a new father, ex-attorney and a poker player. It was just only last week that he had lost his job, and had made all the necessary investigations needed to find who set him up. He pretty much had a slight idea who, but no, he couldn't charge some crime upon _that guy now, _he couldn't. He was the brother of that obnoxious prosecutor on that last trial, which seemingly had nothing to do with the trial…and it would seem like revenge if he had no evidence for his claim.

It didn't matter anymore – he knew that one day, he'll settle the issue once and for all no matter how many years it would take.

The only problem is…

_What next? _Phoenix thought as he slouched on the sofa of the renovated office and sighed exasperatedly. Evidence won't just appear in front of him, years won't fly past him, so what _will_ he do in the meantime?

He wished he would have never though of that question, even if it was inevitable. It made everything seem so dull and colorless. All the excitement of being an attorney seemed like a fading dream in the back of his mind, the free spirited aura of him in the courtroom, the twists and turns…the happy faces of clients…

"Daddy!" Phoenix jumped rather awkwardly from his seat, eyes wide in surprise. Trucy seemed to have awaken his daydream, beaming loudly at his face with a glass of juice in her hand. Now that she was here, he had to be careful. She could _tell _his feelings.

_That _was something that could take long to get used to.

"Hey there," Phoenix looked rather aloof, scratching the back of his head with a blank face. She set the glass of juice on the table and had looks that questioned her new father's manner, but quickly disappeared when Phoenix embraced her warmly with open arms.

As he did that, he too had a feeling that she had to get used to this.

Father and daughter parted, each with a smile on their faces. Trucy pointed at the half glass of apple juice (added with a bit of magic, apparently), and hesitantly offered it to Phoenix. They weren't together for long enough to know what Phoenix liked, so she had this unsure expression that she used a lot with him.

As Phoenix muttered a small 'thank you' and reached for the glass, Trucy settled herself next to him and asked, "Daddy, what are you drinking?"

Phoenix arched his eyebrow at the girl, bringing the rim of the cup to his nose and smelt it. "Apple juice?"

"I meant that…are you drinking from a full glass?"

_What type of question is that..?! _Phoenix mused silently. He answered whilst hiding his true, much too confused expression, resulting into a strained face and a strained voice. "Uh_, _this is a half empty glass of juice." _Well _that _was obvious. She definitely did not need her skills to see that.  
_

When Trucy looked at him pitifully, he felt like his true emotions had been exposed, thinking that she would feel betrayed, knowing that he had lied to her about the last trial. Instead, Trucy opened her mouth to speak, something that sent shock to Phoenix.

"Daddy…are you sad about that day?"

The question sent shivers to his spine. It was fortunate that she did not looked betrayed whatsoever, but he was planning to avoid that question. He set down the glass on the table and patted her head, smiling weakly. He knew this was going to happen. After all… Trucy was one of the Gramarye's, able to see the smallest twitch and slight movements to indicate one's feelings...

"My daddy once said…um…I mean, my other daddy once said," Trucy paused slightly, remembering something. "He said that a sad person would drink from a half empty glass of water because they aren't really happy with what they have."

Phoenix was too flabbergasted for words. The man who once disappeared now lives inside Trucy's spirit, whispering to her the good and bad things that come in life from her memories.

He gave a warm hearted laugh and picked her up so she settled on his lap. There was really no point in hiding it. After all, he felt better with the weight off his shoulders and it _was _bound to happen anyway.

"Hey, Trucy… why did you ask? Couldn't you already tell…?"

The girl wrapped her arms around her daddy's neck and rested her head on his chest. "I just wanted to make sure! You're a bit hard to read sometimes, y'know!"

He wrapped his arms around his dear little daughter as well, "Ah, well, with you, I'll always drink from a full glass…no matter how full or how empty..."

**The End**

A/N: I FINALLY FINISHED THIS –celebrates-. Okay, I feel kinda silly now. Well, uh, okay, you may or may not get this…

What the message was, that if one says, for example… a boy says, "I'm still half empty in the stomach," means he isn't exactly satisfied with what he's eaten already. With the word 'still' in place, it makes it all the more obvious he isn't satisfied.

But when he says, "I'm still half full in the stomach," it seems more like he's satisfied with the food. Some people say that there's no difference between the two, I say there is.

Read and review!


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